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Goodyear shooting suspect planned attack after firearm sale went bad
Posted
Goodyear police have three suspects in custody after a shooting outside a bank over the weekend.
Records state Rodolfo Valdez-Garcia, Adam Perez and Luis Daniel Mendivil, all 18, were arrested over the course of two days in the West Valley.
According to records, Goodyear police had responded to a shooting call Saturday night near Estrella Parkway and Roosevelt Street. Police learned a male individual had been shot in the back and sustained a non-life threatening injury. He was later released from the hospital.
The victim initially refused to cooperate with police but later told them he was at a bank to get money to pay back a friend for a firearm deal gone bad. The friend, Mr. Valdez-Garcia, had tried to sell a firearm earlier in the day but apparently was robbed, records state.
While the victim was in his vehicle at the bank, another vehicle pulled up and blocked the front of the victim's vehicle. A pair of people then approached the vehicle from a dark part of the parking lot. The victim drove around the other vehicle, at which point shots were fired. The suspect vehicle the fled the area.
Police learned the identity and phone number of Mr. Valdez-Garcia through the victim and his social media apps. Police tracked the suspect's cell phone, which showed it appearing in Tolleson, Avondale and in Buckeye.
On Sunday afternoon, police stopped Mr. Valdez-Garcia while he was driving near Interstate 10 and Sun Valley Parkway. He was cooperative with police, saying he had been robbed when trying to sell a firearm he had recently purchased. He believed the shooting victim had set him up and then planned to meet with the victim in order to get some money back.
However, Mr. Valdez-Garcia reportedly brought three other people with him, including three firearms, in case Mr. Valdez-Garcia was robbed again, but also to rob the victim.
Mr. Valdez-Garcia told police he served as the planner and getaway driver. Two other suspects, whom authorities later identified as Mr. Mendivil and Mr. Perez, reportedly fired the weapons. Mr. Valdez-Garcia dropped off the shooters in Tolleson while he slept at a friend's residence for the night.
On Monday afternoon, police arrested Mr. Mendivil and Mr. Perez in connection with the shooting. Mr. Perez had made statements implicating him in the shooting. Police had spotted Mr. Mendivil at a pizza restaurant, where he reportedly was talking with his parents about being involved in the shooting.
Luis Mendivil, Adam Perez (MCSO)
Mr. Valdez-Garcia faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, attempted aggravated robbery, endangerment and attempted armed robbery. He was jailed in lieu of a $500,000 bond and is due in court Jan. 14 and 16.
The other two face similar charges and were jailed in lieu of $500,000 bonds. They are due in court Jan. 15 and 17.
In a search warrant of multiple homes, police found several guns, including one believed to have been used in the shooting. Other items believed to have been stolen, as well as shell casings that appear to match the casings found at the crime scene, were also found, Goodyear police stated in a release Tuesday.
Police said another individual was a person of interest but investigators are only considering him as a witness and not a suspect.